Attitudes toward becoming a veterinarian in a group of undergraduate agriculture and biomedical sciences students

Daly, Russ; Erickson, A. E.

doi:10.2460/javma.241.9.1169

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This is not surprising, as one of the most commonly-recognized roles of DVMs is to support animal health and wellbeing. 24 This finding is also consistent with data from Daly and Erickson 7 , showing that 95.3% (183/192) of students enrolled in undergraduate agriculture and biomedical sciences courses indicated an enjoyment of working with animals as a major reason for wanting to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Exposure to a particular animal or family pet was only moderately influential in students' decision to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.…”

Section: Discussion Of Substantive Findingssupporting

confidence: 81%

“…5 Typically, the decision to become a veterinarian occurs at a rather young age and is guided by the general desire to work with animals. 6,7 Given the changing workforce needs and the current lack of diversity among applicants, it seems necessary to investigate the specific factors that influence individuals to become veterinarians. Answers to these questions could help the profession find ways to increase applicant volume, maximize the potential talent pool, find ways to market the profession to potential applicants, and identify new ways to recruit under-represented minorities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring Factors that Influence Decisions to Become a Veterinarian

Royal¹,

Schoenfeld-Tacher²,

Kedrowicz³

et al. 2015

Res dev med edu

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Introduction: Veterinary medical education; Psychometrics; Career influence; The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, we sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of a newly developed instrument designed to measure factors incoming veterinary medical students indicated were important (or not) in their decision to become a veterinarian. Second, we sought to produce a measure of these factors by utilizing a state-of-the-art psychometric modeling technique to produce an empirical hierarchy that illustrates the construct of interest and make appropriate inferences about the findings. Methods: The Career Influence Factors Survey (CIFS) was administered to an incoming class of veterinary medical students. Data were analyzed via the Rasch Rating Scale Model. The psychometric properties of the instrument were evaluated according to Messick's framework of construct validity. Results: Results indicate the Career Influence Factors Survey is a psychometrically-sound instrument capable of accurately and reliably measuring veterinary medical students' motivations for becoming a veterinarian. Substantive results indicated issues pertaining to animal welfare were the most important in making the decision to become a veterinarian. Previous exposure to a particular animal or family pet was only moderately influential in students' decision to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Factors such as a desire to work on food production issues and anticipated earning potential tend to be of lesser importance to incoming students. Conclusion:We encourage others to utilize the instrument and/or adopt the methodology to evaluate the psychometric properties of other instruments. Substantive findings generally corroborated findings from previous studies, but may identify new insights for improving the recruitment of veterinary medical students. Abstract Article infoArticle Type:Original Research

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Section: Discussion Of Substantive Findingssupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Factors that Influence Decisions to Become a Veterinarian

Royal¹,

Schoenfeld-Tacher²,

Kedrowicz³

et al. 2015

Res dev med edu

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Earlier work by our group and others suggested that veterinary students with rural backgrounds were likely to express an intention to enter rural/food‐animal practice and/or to select food‐animal tracks during their veterinary degree, but outcome data to support this practice have not been published previously to the authors’ knowledge. Heath and Schmitz et al reported that background characteristics associated with choosing food‐animal practice on graduation included growing up on a working farm or ranch, having parents who owned livestock, growing up in a town with a population < 10,000 and having a primary interest at the time of starting veterinary studies in food‐animal or mixed veterinary practice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Demographic and preliminary employment data of the first two graduate cohorts from a rural veterinary school

et al. 2017

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“…11,20 It is possible Figure 3: Ratings assigned by (a) female and (b) male students from the early, mid-, and senior stages of study to the importance of understanding perspectives on welfare on their first day in practice (1 ¼ extremely important, 10 ¼ least important) that students identified these ''practical'' topics as ''competences,'' and linking importance of various topics to Day One Competences may have contributed to a bias toward ranking triage and professional ethics more highly. The more practical topics-in particular triage; professional ethics, laws, and regulations; and euthanasiahave immediate AWE implications and consequences, from Day One, and therefore may have been rated more highly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Animal Welfare Science and Ethics to Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand

Freire¹,

Phillips

Verrinder

et al. 2017

Journal of Veterinary Medical Education

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The study of animal welfare and ethics (AWE) as part of veterinary education is important due to increasing community concerns and expectations about this topic, global pressures regarding food security, and the requirements of veterinary accreditation, especially with respect to Day One Competences. To address several key questions regarding the attitudes to AWE of veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand (NZ), the authors surveyed the 2014 cohort of these students. The survey aimed (1) to reveal what AWE topics veterinary students in Australia and NZ consider important as Day One Competences, and (2) to ascertain how these priorities align with existing research on how concern for AWE relates to gender and stage of study. Students identified triage and professional ethics as the most important Day One Competences in AWE. Students ranked an understanding of triage as increasingly important as they progressed through their program. Professional ethics was rated more important by early and mid-stage students than by senior students. Understanding the development of animal welfare science and perspectives on animal welfare were rated as being of little importance to veterinary graduates as Day One Competences, and an understanding of ''why animal welfare matters'' declined as the students progressed through the program. Combined, these findings suggest that veterinary students consider it more important to have the necessary practical skills and knowledge to function as a veterinarian on their first day in practice.

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Attitudes toward becoming a veterinarian in a group of undergraduate agriculture and biomedical sciences students

Cited by 9 publications

References 13 publications

Measuring Factors that Influence Decisions to Become a Veterinarian

Measuring Factors that Influence Decisions to Become a Veterinarian

Demographic and preliminary employment data of the first two graduate cohorts from a rural veterinary school

The Importance of Animal Welfare Science and Ethics to Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand

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